Goodbye Winneba. We will miss you.

This week, we began the transition of the Winneba Stake from the Cape Coast Mission to the Accra West Mission.  A group of missionaries from Accra arrived to begin working with our missionaries for the week before transfers in order to learn the area and meet the people.

We misunderstood how many would be coming, so it took a little "new math" in the parking lot of the Winneba Stake Center to figure out where to put everyone. 

Some of the apartments will be overcrowded for the week, but we have checked in with them regularly and everyone seems to be dealing with it in a positive way.  We will move our missionaries out on Tuesday when the rest of the Accra West missionaries arrive.

After helping with the transition of the Accra West missionaries, I went to Mankessim to spend a day with our elders in Mando.  We just started holding meetings in Mando a few months ago and now have a set of missionaries assigned specifically there.  

Elder Ripplinger and Elder Konan are the Mando elders.

We don't have an apartment in Mando yet, so the missionaries live in the Mankessim apartment and travel each day.  

Elder Kangwa and Elder Tu'Akoi eating bread and avocado.  

Elder Adams and Elder Kalanga eating banku and fish stew.

My accommodations.

Confirming an appointment during companionship study.  Elder Konan is being trained and is learning English (he is from Ivory Coast).  As a result, they do three hours of companionship study.

So we got to wave goodbye to the other missionaries as they left to proselyte.

The work in the Mankessim area is really progressing well.  The two branches are growing and we now have a congregation in Mando of about 25 per week and hope to have a new congregation in Saltpond approved soon.  

This is Elder Tu'Akoi and Elder Kangwa with a group of the Saltpond members and the leadership of the Mankessim 1st Branch.

We had a nice day in Mando.

Unplanned Service.

 A member of the Church named Jeff spent the day with us and helped with teaching and translating.

This is the Mando Group Leader and his wife.  They fed us nice rice and chicken.

This is the shelter where the Church meets now.

We just rent some plastic chairs and we are set.

Unfortunately, the Baptists meet right next door in this shelter.  They are louder than we are.  So we are looking forward to moving into our own building as soon as the renovations are completed.

This is the new building.  It will be nice when the work is done.

We taught some great people.  I'm excited to see the Church growing there.

While I was on my Area Visit, Sister Stevenson spent Tuesday and Wednesday working with some of the missionaries around Cape Coast.

She spent Tuesday in Abura with Sister Thompson and Sister Ziqubu.

In addition to teaching several investigators and visiting members, she was able to join their Missionary Coordination Meeting with the Ward Mission Leader.

On Wednesday, Sister Stevenson worked with Sister Ben and Sister Smart in Ola.

Sister Munetsi joined them for part of the day while her companion was getting her non-citizen card.

This is a typical teaching setting for us in Ghana.

Sister Stevenson said she had two nice days with "powerful" missionaries.

Friday, we trained our new trainers.  Their new missionaries come next Tuesday.

On Saturday, the mission leadership in the Cape Coast area gathered for "Transfer Planning."  I give them the new assignments and they figure out how to get them there.  They did a dessert buffet this time.

I was at the hospital with a sick missionary, but they saved me a plate for later.

Finally, Sister Stevenson took this picture of a kitten for the cat lovers in our family who consistently remind us that "cats are friends, not food."